Indonesia

As our cities turn smart and countries turn digital the gender gap in terms of internet access is disturbing. The lack of access directly relates to the loss of rights of women and minorities. Sadly there is a long way to go before we close this gap. Chinmayi S K explores projects that attempted in innovative ways to address the digital gender gap online.

Acknowledging the differences in perceptions between genders, and between urban and rural dwellers, what must be realized is that these differences are often not unique to aspects related
to the mobile phone. The concerns, needs, and benefits ascribed to the mobile phone are more a reflection of people’s existing societal, familial, and gender norms prevalent in their environments, rather than having been elicited by the mobile phone. From the perception of the study participants, the phone is an enabler of extant human need and desire.

A number of reports in this year's GISWatch focused on the everyday reality when it comes to sexuality that many teenagers face when using the internet. Mariana Giorgetti Valente from InternetLab - Law and Technology Research Center in Brazil, Lin McDevitt­Pugh from Netsheila in The Netherlands and Nieke Jahja from the Center for Civic Engagement and Studies in Indonesia approached this topic from different angles.

The report is based on field visits, interviews with local and central government and non-government organizations and desk reviews carried out between December 2004-April 2005. It aims to identify policies, technologies, institutions and investments needed to improve access to information and communication technologies (ICT) in rural areas in Indonesia. A critical part of this study is a gender specific component, to ensure that the strategies developed and recommended are informed by a comprehensive gender analysis, and further integrate gender considerations into national ICT policy, planning and implementation.